Sovereign Canine
by Lt. Jenkins
Summary: This is the story of Kodi if he were born back in the day before the bush plane happened or even before the diphtheria outbreak did, making balto being born even earlier, in short the story takes place earlier and wings of change never happened. Enjoy and have fun, I hope this turns out to be a good one! Kodi goes to war in WWI. But the war isn't just 'over there.'
1. Records on a loop

"Time and time again unexplainable things occur. Some say it is dumb luck, some say it is a higher being out there. But sometimes telling providence from charm can be hard at the times one needs it most."-Pvt. Jenkins, U.S.N

The adrenaline rushed through his veins at the speed of light, for at last after their first run of the season, Nome was in sight. The hybrid grinned and looked behind him and saw his team, no, his second family, sharing the same grin as his. After passing by the sawmill, Kodi looked in front and focused on running, the mail was especially heavy on this return trip. The golden Alaskan sun rose over the east and beamed upon the earth, so covered in white that as soon as the natural light hit it, the snow sparkled as if it was made of sapphire itself. Kodi loved his job with a passion, _'Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.'_ Kodi had heard the humans say this repeatedly, the other dogs shrugged it off, but Kodi, Kodi treated it as a creed to live by. Kodi looked up at the sun and greeted its warmth; he loved something about the warm sun hitting his cold body, further warming his natural coat of fur.

After five of the quickest minutes you will ever wait for passed by, they passed by the church and stopped at the postmaster's office to drop off the mail from White Run.

"Man that was one of our shortest runs on a White Run trip!" Kodi exclaimed while looking at Kirby, the dog next to him.

Kirby looked as if he could care less, "Whatever, we got the mail to Nome right?"

"Oh not this again, I'm just saying that we should be proud, the town depends on us!" Kodi said as annoyed as Kirby was._ 'Agreeing to disagree again, like always.'_ Dusty thought as she watched Kirby get into a fight with Kodi about why they do the mail run. Meanwhile, their musher, Mr. Simpson, walked out of the postmaster's office and un-hitched his dogs from the sled whilst congratulating them on their successful run time record, "You all did a great job team, get rested tomorrow."

Kodi barked in reply and all the other dogs followed suite. Mr. Simpson chuckled slightly and pushed the sled on his way back to the shed.

"Kodi, you're back so soon, I thought this trip took seven days, not five." Jenna said, greeting her son.

"It does, we broke our town's record time! Where's dad?" He asked, receiving a motherly nuzzle.

"Oh, he left an hour before you got here, we didn't expect you for another two days, so he went out hunting." She finished, obviously puzzled herself.

"Okay, is that all you wanted to tell me?" Kodi said.

"Dingo wants to know how your run went too; he's at the trawler watching his pups." Kodi still did not believe that Dingo, of all his brothers, had been the first to be a father. Kodi put the jealousy-ridden thought aside and found happiness for his brother; he really was a good father.

Kodi nodded and ran off towards his father's past place of residence, now a family meeting spot, which was on the outskirts of town, one mile away from where he was now. _'Eh, if I didn't run I would never feel like running that would be a weakness and inability to serve Nome.' _He ran past the town news center, which displayed the date plainly, JUNE 21, 1914

He felt the familiar crunch of snow under his paws, he got the same feeling he got when his adrenaline got up, and he felt alive. He loved it, the speed, and the wind in his face, everything whizzing past him at a bewildering pace. He was so caught up in thought that he barely noticed that he was right next to the ship. He dismissed that and went up the gangplank.

"Kodi, mom told me you were back, how was the run, bro?" Dingo asked while one of his pups noticed Kodi was home, "KODI!" She screamed and no sooner had all seven of dingo's pups cover Kodi from head to toe. "Ugh!" Kodi grunted as seven individual pups trucked him, "It…went fine…" Kodi said in between laughter.

"Alright, give your uncle some room to breath guys…and gals!" He said receiving devilish glares from his three female pups. Dingo sheepishly grinned and turned back towards Kodi, "So, what are your plans?"

"Ah, probably get some rest, play with the pups, and go to training at nine tomorrow." Kodi said, stretching his hind legs for emphasis. Dingo looked towards the woods. Kodi caught this immediately as Dingo made it obvious as to what he was thinking.

"He's just hunting, everything's fine, Dingo." Kodi said.

"Yeah, I know that, it's something else." Dingo replied returning his gaze to Kodi.

"Oh?" Kodi replied, this was not what he expected.

"It's just when dad goes out hunting, I just remember what Steele did to him and how he's rumored to still be in the woods." Dingo said, shivering at the word Steele.

"Are you kidding me? Last I heard, was that some outsider picked him up and took him to his homeland." Kodi said looking watching Dingo's expressions soften and relax.

"You're probably right, I just fear for my pups you know?" He said. Kodi nodded and with not much else to talk about turned around but was stopped by Dingo, "You know, you should think about having some pups of your own, huh big bro?"

Kodi turned and said playfully, "Eh, I'll think about it. But look what happened to _you_!" Dingo badly feigned a frown and hollered as Kodi left, "Ah get outta here you big lug!" and with that, He returned to his pups.

Kodi, on the other hand, was running on all cylinders, at his best speed towards the team's all-dog celebration party at the boiler room. He kind of liked the social functions and sort of gave him a chance to mingle with other people and try, and fail, his hand at flirting, something he always caught himself stuttering and choking up in. He rounded the corner on D-street and hooked to the left, then then the right, jumped over a fence and landed on the other side, in a snow bank…

"Ow!" He exclaimed, "Well, that went well." He sighed to himself. That was probably one of his duller moments, not really something he would keep a record of or mention.

"That was the worst jump ever. Of all time." Said a slightly playful, southern accented husky.

_'Oh you have to be fucking kidding me, DUSTY of all people?'_ His mind swore.

"Not my greatest moment, no." He said, causing her to giggle. He pawed his way out of the snow and shook himself clean. "Come on, we don't want to be late to our own party." Kodi chuckled and ran off to the boiler room, which was getting bigger by the second, "Race ya!" He screamed from up the street.

"Oh, you are so on!" She said. They ran and ran until they reached the entrance at a tie and quite out of breath. "I…still… think I won." Dusty said, gasping for air.

"Alright, alright, you win. Let's just get inside before I asphyxiate out here in this thin air." Kodi said panting. He pushed open the door and entered and held the door for Dusty, "Ladies first." He said slyly.

"Oh, save it Romeo. The gentleman act doesn't impress me!" Dusty said giggling. They both entered more fully into the welcoming warmth of the boiler room. The dogs were all standing or sitting all over the place, talking about the record run or other things. (This was not much for Nome. Being in the middle of nowhere and all.) Kodi went over to Ralph and Kirby and all started talking and soon got into an argument about whether Kirby or Kodi were pulling to the right. _'Duty calls.'_ Dusty thought but stopped herself when Kodi stopped fighting and stepped in, "Alright guys, I think that is enough. We get here in a record time and all you can do is complaining about someone pulling to the right as you have _every_ time. So grow up and be happy about our accomplishments, darn it!" Kodi finished and sat down slowly. His team members were shocked. "Kodi are you-" "I need some air." Kodi said interrupting and left out the back door.

His teammates dismissed this odd behavior as post-run fatigue but Dusty was not so sure, so she went out to follow him. When she got outside, she noticed his paw-prints lead all the way to the mountain outside Nome's city limits. She followed but stayed a good distance away and swore she heard him…sobbing. She continued to follow him until he had reached the summit of the mountain. He sat down on a particularly flat piece of rock and let out a mournful, smooth howl that reverberated through the land and to both his and his 'spy's' surprise it was returned by another low, mournful howl. Kodi reluctantly looked down and sniffed his nose a little in an effort to stop crying. Dusty wanted to go help but felt out of place, and reluctantly listened and went with her mind instead of her heart, and left him to his sorrow.

Back at Nome, the telegraph office was receiving a new message, one that was related to a specific chain of others like it; it contained a report of the situation overseas and about how Germany was starting to strengthen itself. It also said that despite popular belief there was no current concern of the matter and that all should continue with their normal routine. The telegraph operator wrote the message down and sent his dog to get it to town hall. _'I hope to god that their right, otherwise the world will be the same no more.'_ He thought and with that thought fresh in his mind heard a low howl, "I need to get back to work." He said sitting back down at his desk putting a dab of oil on his telegraph transmitter. The day was quiet after that, Kodi did not come back to the party and slept through the night on the cliff. About two hours after he fell asleep he was shaken awake by his father, "D-dad, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Getting you home, no questions asked, go back to bed." Balto said.

"Alright but before I do, were you the one who returned my howl?" Kodi asked quizzically. After a brief moment of silence his father answered, "Yes, I know my sons howl, especially when he's sad. We'll talk about that tomorrow, just get some rest, you have practice tomorrow." Kodi listened o his father and rested because he also knew that tomorrow was training day for his team and that he would not want to be missing from that. So, with that knowledge in mind he drifted off into sleep, something he would surely need in the coming day, no doubt.


	2. Revelation

The sun poured into the wheelhouse of the beached trawler on the outskirts of Nome, reminding the maritime workers and sailors in the nearby port that the sea was no safe heaven. However, the contents of this trawler were far from 'decommissioned'. In fact, the were very much, in commission…  
"CRAP, I'M GONNA BE LATE! BY DAD, BY MOM, BY DINGO!" Kodi screamed as he jumped over the side of the ships fore section, bounding in the direction towards Nome.  
Jenna looked over and waved goodbye with her paw, or at least she was before Dingo's pups found her. Kodi watched the chaos unfold and chuckled lightly to himself as he ran, 'Dingo, you really did it this time.' Nome was getting bigger and bigger and soon enough, he was scrambling down Front Street, past the town's hustle and bustle and the occasional sensation of America, the 'model T'. Kodi had not quite figured it out yet but something about chasing those things was extremely satisfying, and fun too. About five minutes later, he arrived at the town postal reserve depot. And in addition, was greeted harshly by Kirby, "Hey 'leader', why are you late? Too busy yelling at every one?" Kodi glared and generally said nothing while he was being hitched onto the line.  
Dusty knew something was wrong yesterday, no one on the mail team could have ever predicted that Kodi would be this negative. Especially after their record run. She saw Kirby look up and expected Kodi to smack him right in the muzzle, but was surprised when Kodi looked back at him forgivingly saying, "Sorry Kirby, I…I just need some time to think."  
Mr. Simpson then walked out of the shed adjacent to the sled and put a pocket watch back into his pocket. He mounted the sled's runners promptly and barked out his first command, "Hike!" and with that, the team sped off onto the trail they used to practice. It ran by Marks AFB and a long winding river in which when they reached the source point. Turned around and went back home.  
They ran like this for some time, in the awkward silence that was born from the earlier meeting before they started. Nearly fifteen minutes later they started approaching the tarmac of Marks AFB and it was quite the site for the dogs, seeing the base as it was that day. There were trucks and cars all over the place and even a few bush planes the humans called 'sopwith camels' were landing and taking of from the tarmac. The team oohed and ahhed but while the rest of the team were admiring the view dusty stole a glance over to Kodi who kept an alert, chiseled expression on his face, paying no head to the hustle and bustle next to them. She decided to ignore it, besides her being all up in his grill like that. It would be weird…right? She looked back at the base and saw a plane take off with the RAF symbol on it. Looks like a target to me…' she thought. She then threw her head ajar as Kodi spoke to the team as a whole for the first time in over two days, "Come on, we've got work to do everyone, we've seen this base a million times." In addition, with that he upped their pace a bit.  
Meanwhile back at the trawler, Jenna confronted Balto, who was watching the port's unusually high amount of activity.  
"Balto, I don't think we should've let him go. I mean, it is only the first year since it happened. Ah, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't want him to vent out his anger or sadness on anyone."  
Balto looked at her and nuzzled her, "Knowing Kodi, he's probably just running and running to a faster speed so he can finish the job quicker."  
Jenna smiled, "You're probably right." Balto returned her smile and turned back towards the port, "What concerns me is why all these ships are arriving and why we haven't seen Boris yet."  
Jenna looked at her concerned husband, "He's probably just caught up in something in…Roo, no, rah…"  
"Russia." Balto finished, smiling.  
"How do you know so much about human history anyways?" Jenna fished.  
"When I was an outcast before the serum-run, I used to hide under the floor boards in the school closet; it was the warmest place to sleep before the trawler was beached. Anyways, while I sat in there I heard all the lessons the children were taught, I even know CPR." Balto said, smiling smugly.  
"Well, that made me a lot safer." Jenna teased slightly.  
"Whatever." Balto said laughing as they watched the port's high amount of activity.  
|TWO HOURS LATER, PRACTICE RUN, 500 METERS FROM HALF WAY REST POINT|  
Well, the rest of the trip was a little less tense but still just as silent. The halfway point was getting ever closer, Kodi was still keeping his guard up, seeing as how they were stuck behind an Army train it was getting dark, and they were probably going to have to sleep through the night at the halfway point. They were already running low on daylight as it was. After thirty minutes of unwarranted wasted time, the train was gone, they started towards the halfway point, and Kodi started thinking, 'Maybe if I…No, they must not know. Otherwise, the team's morale or effectiveness could be damaged. It's not worth the risk and besides…it's personal.' After five more minutes of vigorous running, they arrived at the halfway point and stopped after a whole day of running.  
Mr. Simpson gave them a small amount of praise and started to set up his make shift tent. After this, the kind musher gave his dogs their food rations and they began munching down. Dusty was about to take a big chomp into hers but noticed Kodi head off to the forest. She was defiantly going to find out why he was sad. That is what friends do. She trailed him for a couple minutes until he came to a rest at a nearby overlook. She took a deep breath and walked over to him, "Kodi, are you okay?"  
Kodi looked up from his distant gaze and sort of met her eyes, "I'm…I'm fine." He said as he turned back around and sighed.  
"Dusty saw right through his feigned calmness, "No, you're not. Ever since yesterday you haven't talked to anyone and I'll be darned if I don't get an explanation." She said sternly, but assuringly.  
Kodi looked up with tear-ridden eyes, "Listen dusty, I know you're concerned but please. I-I just can't." Dusty was not having any of it.  
"No, I'm staying until I know." She said. To this Kodi pulled a small post card from his harness with out looking up and placed it softly on the rock next to him. Dusty slowly walked over to the picture and saw a wiry seven-year-old boy with blue eyes, freckles, and brown, tussled hair.  
"Who is this?" She asked, her curiosity peaking.  
"…My owner." He said after thinking for a little bit.  
"Well how come none of us have ever seen him before?" She asked.  
Kodi froze.  
He looked up from the ground, tears balling up in his eyes, "It's because…It's…" he paused, "It's because he died when an avalanche fell upon his and his dad's hunting cabin near bear mountain, just over there." He said pointing to the distant mountain on the horizon. Dusty was motionless as he continued.  
"After he died, I was a stray, luckily I was found by a musher and put on a specific mail team you and I should know, with 3 other ups that were a little weirded out by the new guy."  
It all strangely made sense to Dusty now, how he was always a bit silent on the resting periods. She looked at Kodi and how the setting sun shone majestically over his fur. Without thinking, she involuntarily leaned in, licked his cheek, and immediately realized what she did and tried to hide her livid blushing. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I mean-"  
Kodi cut her off by putting his paw over mouth, "It's… alright. It was quite alright." He said blushing. Kodi would not have traded places with anyone in the world just then. Compelled with his hidden passion he asked, "Dusty I think-I think I love you…"  
Dusty's heart skipped a beat. She did have a crush on him, but she never thought he would have returned it.  
"Kodi I…I love you too."  
Dusty gave him a quick kiss and walked back into the woods to give him time to think. Kodi was so happy that he had almost completely forgotten about his owner. He took a moment and looked at Bear Mountain's summit, 'I will never forget you, Kurt. Never. You were my first everlasting friend in this lonely world. Thank you.' With that, he quickly ran off to get back to the group as night had befallen him, and he needed his sleep.  
When he arrived he saw that the group had fallen asleep, even Dusty. With nothing much to do after his recent revelation, he decided to at least try to get some sleep. Because he knew that, it was going to be an exciting week for more than one of them.


	3. Return to Nome

The sun rose over the sky and Dusty was the first to awake. She saw Mr. Simpson was still sleeping and that everyone was still sleeping, save Kodi, who was sitting on a hill, overlooking the team's campsite. He looked around, and Dusty immediately feigned sleep. Kodi saw the sun was over the horizon already and barked to get every one up. That did not work so he tried a couple more times. Dusty just watched in the same position, watching Kodi fail at waking everyone up. It was somewhat cute. He then stood up and let out a long howl. Dusty got shivers down her spine, _'Wow, he has a really smooth voice.' _A voice in the back of her head said. _'Shut up!' _Her mind said. Kodi had succeeded in waking up everyone as Mr. Simpson woke up and he would take care of the rest.

Kodi walked down from the hill and Dusty greeted him, "…Hey Kodi, are you alright?"

Kodi looked at her and smiled, "I am now." She smiled something about being around Kodi made her feel safe. He nuzzled her and she was a bit shocked a but felt comfortable returning it. They were trading nuzzles when they noticed the team staring at them. They immediately backed away from each other and Kodi rubbed the back of his head, "…I uh, we-"

Ralph butted in before Kirby could say anything, "It's okay Kodi. Besides we all knew it was bound to happen, whether you did or didn't." He said smiling while Kirby nodded. The musher told the dogs to form up. When Dusty was about to go to her spot Kirby nudged her and nodded towards his lead position, right next to Kodi's position. He turned before she could say anything and got into her spot. The musher went over to hitch them up, "What the-" Then he looked at the lead positions and smiled and just hitched them on and called out, "Hike!"

The team practically flew out of there with the speed of an eagle; the musher definitely noticed the change in average speed, "Mush, Mush!" He called as they sped through the woods, _'At this rate we will be at Nome within the hour!' _

Coincidentally, he was right and they arrived in Nome sooner than any other practice run held on their teams regard, anyhow. They stopped at the town municipal center and he got off, unhitched the dogs from their positions, and gave them some jerky, "Good job, team!" He then walked off to his town house to log their run.

"You guys want to go party?" Kirby asked.

"Yeah sure." Kodi said, multiple positive acknowledgements following it. They walked together down to the boiler room, where all the dogs hung out and talked. While they were passing the town, the news center there was a lot of buzz going on around the bulletin board. The dogs paid no mind to it and kept walking.

Meanwhile a telegraph operator busted through his office door, "The news is in, the Austrian-Hungarian Prince, Franz Ferdinand, has been assassinated, empire in grieving!"

All the humans pooled over to the telegraph station and started swarming the operator with alarming questions, "Is it war?" One stood above the others.

"No one thinks so, no one really knows for sure. Probably not, so please let me get back to work!" Of course, this was not the only news being the subject of talk around town. In other news a week earlier, the country of the United States was struck with a pandemic of influenza and every one in Nome feared for an out break in Alaska from immigrants that were coming from the Northern states, like they did.

The dogs of course, paid no mind and entered into the room's welcoming heat, "Alright every one, let's par-tay!" Kirby called out.

**_[A/N: Hey y'all, sorry for the short chapter, wanted to get something out while I had some time on my hands. About one or two more chapters of fluff or other stuff before I 'start' the story and as always, stay beautiful.]_**


	4. Love is a Battlefield

The party was raging, at least as far as they went in the early 1900's. Kirby was taking Body shots from Ralph and that caused Kodi to puke his guts out all over the floor. _'What was it the American has called it a 'California rager'?' _Dusty thought as she watched the momentary chaos unfold. After Kodi composed himself and cleaned himself up, more importantly, he slyly walked over to dusty, "May I have you for a dance?" He said mocking an Englishmen's accent.

Dusty laughed, "Did anyone ever tell you how bad you were at impersonations?" She asked taking his arm as the 'all-dog band' started plucking away at their old, thrown out instruments.

"You have really good form." Kodi said softly.

Dusty looked up from his chest and replied, "Kodi, you were the last one I expected to know about waltzing."

"Eh, what can I say?" He replied sheepishly.

They waltzed for about two more minutes when Kodi whispered in her ear all of a sudden, "Hey, Dusty, I want to show you something."

"What?" She asked quizzically.

"You have to trust me." He said.

"Of course I do." She said, "I love you."

Kodi smiled, "As I you, now come on, before they start another song."

They went out the back and Kodi started running, "Race ya!" He called. Dusty, feeling mesmerized in the moment called out, "You are so on!" They ran and ran and ran until Kodi slowed to a trot, out of breath.

"Okay…Okay…y-you win." He panted.

"Ha-ha!" She exclaimed. She looked at Kodi but panicked when she could not find him. She saw his paw prints and that they had left the impression that he…that he slipped of the cliff! She ran to his side and saw him floating on his back in a hot spring down at the bottom. "YOU JERK!" She called as she heard him burst into laughter, "Come on down, the waters great!" She stopped herself, "Uh…how?"

"Jump!" He said as he saw worry spread across her complexion, "Hey now, its fine…here, wait one minute!" He said as he spotted a cave that lead up right to the top of the cliff along it's spine onto a tree. "Alright!" She said but was scared out of her wits when he called out, "Up here." She looked up into the tree branch and saw him lying there smugly. She 'accidentally' kicked the tree with her hind leg and he came toppling down, into a snowdrift.

"Okay you got me truce." He said, "Take my hand."

She did as she was told and took it, he then jumped and she screamed for her life. They landed three seconds in the hot spring. Going form Alaskan cold to Florida hot.

She opened her eyes and saw a completely new world.

"Wow." She said in awe.

"I know, it's amazing right?" Kodi said swimming up beside her.

The water under the cave glowed an iridescent green and it made the icicles above them sparkle like the very stars that filled the sky above them all. They were both mesmerized but Dusty was so far-gone that Kodi had to nudge her little bit to snap her out of it.

"You know… I have a question…but I am afraid of the answer it might reveal." Kodi said.

Dusty's heart skipped a beat, "Yeah?" She said nervously.

"Would you, Dusty Jones, be my mate?" He asked.

The world fell silent, "I…I…" She composed herself, "Kodi, I think we need some time apart." She said hiding sobs.

"W-what?" Kodi said, shocked, "But…I-I love you!"

"I'm sorry Kodi, I need to go. I'm sorry!" She said as she ran out of the spring towards her home in Nome. It was as if a part of him died that day, he looked up at the moon and asked, "Why…why me?" He got out of the spring and walked back to the now empty trawler, due to Dingo's Mate's owners coming back from a vacation in Austria-Hungary. Balto and Jenna stayed at their owner's house. He walked up the gangplank and just sat in the barren wheelhouse, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. They finished their runs for the month in record times; he professed his love to her, which she returned. He did not get it. He just did not get it.

**|Nome, Alaska 1914 Town center|**

Kodi quit the mail team and mainly stayed secluded from the team from there on in. He knew that if he did not start taking care of himself he would surely die. He was so sad that he almost did not realize the commotion down town. He did not know much since he ran away from the mail team, leaving him a stray. He saw the humans crying and some lining up. He noticed the town center's news board, _WAR!_

He walked up to the board and saw that the British military was recruiting men from Alaska. Dogs, Men, and Horses were needed. '_Dogs…' _ He thought. Just then, he saw the mail team arrive in front of the town center. He saw Dusty and she saw him. He looked away and saw a man in a uniform looking at him, "Hey boy, you wanna fight in the war?" Kodi looked at the mail team and back at the man and barked in response. "Good boy! You'll start training tomorrow." He said as he gave Kodi a piece of Jerky.

Kirby walked over, "What are you doing Kodi?" Followed by Ralph, Dusty listening intently, and the other two newbies listening as well, "Because I apparently failed at my life here. I'm going to do something with my life over there." He then followed the man in the uniform to his motor carriage.

**[A/N: This is going to get very interesting, no more fluff. (Thank geezus!) Next chapter contains Nasty Drill Instructors, New Bunkmates, and weird songs.]**


	5. Running, Jogging, and running some more

The sky was gray and the air was cold…death was in the air. Still, life blossomed.

"Oooh, it's cold!" Said a particularly Russian goose exclaimed as he climbed out of some rubble. He looked across the way and puked.

There were bodies of lifeless men and destroyed buildings everywhere. A few Russian troopers remained and were putting snow in the wounds of their critically wounded, for the lack of there being a field hospital. The wounded screamed but they knew that the pain would subside after a while, as the snow rather disinfected their wounds.

"Oh…this is horrible. I must go back to Alaska and tell Balto, this is terrible!" He said as he took flight towards the direction of Nome, Alaska. It would be a long flight. _'I have many miles to cover…'_ He thought as he flew over the battlefield._ 'Many miles, indeed.' _He continued onward as best he could, he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

**|Nome, Alaska 1914, Marks AFB, Quarter Master General's Office|**

"SSgt. Byrne, this is crazy. They would not survive a minute out there! You have seen the reports and pictures, have you not?" Lieutenant Colonel Hammond exasperated.

"Sir, they could be a powerful addition to our ranks. Especially if we put them in with the prototype vest, we were developing." SSgt. Byrne said.

"No, we wouldn't use such scarce equipment, _prototype_ equipment on other equipment." He replied.

Byrne paused for a moment, the rebutted, "Sir, your mistake is seeing these dogs as military hardware. They are more than that,_ better_ than that."

"They're dogs, Staff Sergeant. Not super heroes."

"Sir, I stand by my request, do not underestimate me. But most of all, do not underestimate _them_." He said going to parade rest.

"…Fine, It's approved. But I want to see results tomorrow, _personally_." The LtC. said.

With that, Byrne turned on his heels and was about to leave when the Lieutenant Colonel stopped him, "The war…is taking a lot of things from everyone, James. I just hope it hasn't changed who we are as people."

"It's the war to end all wars, sir."

(((()))(())))

Kodi was sitting in his barracks when he heard other voices coming from outside…

"Kennel seven…Kennel seven… Ah, there we are!" A light spirited American pit bull wearing the same kooky looking cap that all the other dogs had to were with a patch that read, _'Joint U.S.M.C-Royal Marine Joint 102__nd__ and 69__th__._

"Ah, looks like someone beat me to it! I am Stubby, and you are?"

"My name's Kodiak but please, call me Kodi."

"Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?" He asked.

"Actually the closest town from here, Nome. My family lives there and so does Dus-…never mind." Kodi said stopping himself.

"Girl troubles, huh?" He said plainly.

_'How the fuck did he know about Dusty?'_ Kodi thought, in shock. "How did you-"

Stubby cut him off, "I've seen that look before, Kodi. My owner had the same face when he said goodbye to his girlfriend before they plopped us down here."

"I'm over it." Kodi said plainly.

"No you're not Kodi, you need to go back and ask _why. _Not complain why, ask her why." He said

Kodi looked at the pit-bull and saw that he really cared.

"I don't know why, but I think you and I should stick together, what do you say?" Kodi asked.

"Sounds good, speaking of sticking together, where are our other squad mates? We are supposed to have four, there are two beds left."

Just then, as if on queue, they heard voices outside the barracks, _"I'm tellin' youz buddy, you're gettin' on my last nerves, and youz better believe it too!"_

_ "Well, I'm quite sorry then. Forgive me?" _A British accented dog asked.

_"Youz is my squad mate, of course I do!"_ A Brooklyn accented dog replied.

The two dogs walked in, the Brit was a German Shepard and the other one was a Golden Retriever. The air was quiet but when the golden retriever was about to speak up, the air was drowned out, "GET OUT HERE, YOU LAR-ASS FAG-FUCKS!"

_'Well, he's colorful.' _Kodi thought while his and the other six kennels fell out into four lines of seven, twenty-eight dogs in total. They then all simultaneously shat huge bricks, which came to be known as shit-zero. This was their first contact with there Drill Instructor. He walked out in front of them in his "Khaki's" and said in a raised voice, (which is calm if you look at United States Marine DI's)

"Look to the man on your left, now to your right, there is a sixty percent chance that two out of the three of you, will die in combat. I am Drill Instructor Keyes, and to see how full of shit you are, I want two hundred push-ups, GO! One, Two, One, Two, get those asses to the ground, you are the worst excuse for recruits I have ever seen! Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?"

After fifty non-stop push-ups, Kodi and Stubby were panting like crazy. The Golden Retriever leaned over a bit and told them his name, "Hey guys, my names Blitz and the Brit's name is Bronson, he goes by B.R."

"Pleasure…to…meet you…" Stubby exploded in between pants for breath.

Seven minutes later, they stopped at two hundred when DI Keyes yelled out a new order, "One hundred sit-ups, Go!"

Kodi had gone from panting to gasping, _'I used to pull sleds all the time, what happened to me?"_ He then remembered his old life, _'Right…that.'_ After a surprising five minutes, they finished. "Alright, two minute break. Trainers, lead them to the drink trough.

Kodi tasted the water and it tasted a tad salty, but it was the best water he had ever had in his life.

Keyes walked over to the recruits and barked out at them, "Alright maggots, the obstacle courses are only a short jog away, let's get moving!" And turned on his heels and the recruits groaned and fell in behind him.

Keyes looked to his left and shouted at a trainee, "Give me a cadence, meat sack!"

The dog gulped and started, "They_ say that in the Army the coffees mighty fine  
it looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine." _All the dogs joined in now, _"Oh Lord, I want to go. But they will not let me go. Oh Lord, I want to go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!They say that in the Army, the chow is mighty fine, a chicken jumped off the table and started marking time. Oh Lord, I want to go, but they will not let me go. Oh Lord, I want to go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!They say that in the Army, the biscuits are mighty fine, one rolled off the table and killed a friend of mine OH Lord, and I want to go. But they will not let me go Oh Lord; I want to go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!They say that in the Army the training's might fine last night there were ten of us, now there is only nine. Oh Lord, I want to go but they will not let me go. Oh Lord, I want to go hoo-hoo-hoooome EH!They say that in the Army the pay is mighty fine. They give you a hundred dollars and take back ninety-nine Oh Lord, I want to go, but they will not let me go. Oh Lord, I wanna go hoo-hoo-hoooomeEH!"_

`The dog finished, quite out of breath, in fact. Well, they kept jogging for what seemed like forever but their "short jog" turned out to be a two-kilometer jog. Nevertheless, they arrived at their destination, something DI Keyes called, 'the playground'.

Kodi examined the course. It was like doing a maze on paper, only this one twisted and turned into and out of the page. Many bridges and rope ladders led to dead ends. He squinted—then found one possible route. He nudged Stubby and when he had his team's attention pointed, "Look," he said, "that basket and rope on the far side. It goes straight to the top. It's a long pull, though." He flexed his biceps, uncertain if he could make it in his weakened state.

"We can do it," Stubby said. Kodi glanced at the other teams; they were searching the course as well. "We'll have to make a quick run for it," he said. "Make sure no one else gets there first." "

"I'm fast," B.R said, "Real fast."

"Trainees, get ready," Keyes shouted.

"Okay," Kodi said, "You sprint ahead and hold it for us."

"Go!"

Bronson shot forward. Kodi had never seen anyone move like him. He ran like a jackrabbit on steroids; his feet seemed barely to touch the ground. He got to the basket. Kodi, Blitz, and Stubby were only halfway there. One dog beat them to the basket.

"Get out;" he ordered Bronson, "I'm going up."

Stubby, Blitz and Kodi ran up and pushed him back, "Wait your turn." Stubby said. Kodi, Blitz and Stubby joined Bronson in the basket. Together they pulled on the rope and raised themselves up. There was a lot of rope—for every three meters they pulled, they only rose one meter. A breeze made the basket sway and bounce into the pole.

"Faster," Kodi urged.

They pulled as one dog, six paws working in unison, and accelerated into the sky. They did not get there first. They were third. Each of them has to ring the bell, though—Bronson, Stubby, Blitz and then Kodi. They slid down the pole. Bronson and Stubby waited for Kodi and Blitz to land, and then together they ran across the finish line. Drill Instructor Keyes watched them. He did not say anything, but Kodi thought he saw a smile flicker across his face.

Stubby clapped Kodi and Bronson their backs since he could reach theirs and not Blitz's. "That was good work," Stubby said. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "I'm too tired to do anymore."

Just as if on queue, DI Keyes walked up to the cluster of dogs gasping for air, "Alright, some more PT and we get back to base, let's go!"

They jogged, jogged, jogged, and ran and eventually they ended up at the plaza where the seven kennels lined the sides of the outer border, "Barracks, sweet barracks." Blitz muttered.

"Too right, mate." B.R replied.

The other dogs separated in their respective barracks, the time flew by, and it was nine in the afternoon. They walked into their own barracks and went to their "Bunks". It was truly a tiring day, but despite the pain it was…insanely _fun_. They were too tired to start up a real conversation, save complaining about aches and pains, "Ah, I haven't hurt this much ever!" Blitz said.

"The only thing that comes close to this was me conditioning for the mail sled team, this makes it look like child's play!" Kodi exclaimed.

"I think we should get some rest guys. We have a long six weeks ahead of us." Stubby said.

"Actually, Stubby's right guys, who knows what he's gonna throw at us over our time hear, goodnight guys." Then Kodi turned over and closed his eyes. The rest of their 'fire team' called out goodnight to each other and closed their eyes as well. It was a long, hard day. They were having no trouble lying down, but they could not quite sleep. They fidgeted around their beds for what seemed like an hour but then a sound started emitting from the human side of the training facility, it sounded like a trumpet or bugle. Kodi did not know how to place it, but it was calming, he was getting sleepy. He closed his eyes again and finally recognized the song as he fell asleep, It was the sound of Tapps, being played out on one side of the base, and echoed on the other. The tune flowed through the air and all the recruits drifted into what would count as a…fitful sleep, indeed.


	6. Plans for Grads

Kodi was standing at a rigid attention, as was the rest of his battalion. Today was the culmination of six weeks of basic fitness tests, tests, and educational sessions. Kodi and his squad were very different people now. They were more muscular, agile, and overall smarter. Today they were going to be chosen by the human handlers. Kodi looked to Stubby, who had become his life-long friend as well as Bronson and Blitz had. He could see that they were all visibly nervous, everyone was. They were so close to graduation that everyone was being extra careful, this was literally the last day they would be on base for training. Keyes was at the top left corner of the organized rank and file eyeing his men, looking over his work. They were being assigned to the Joint British-American task force at Marks AFB, which was a staging area for both respective allied forces. This would explain the mixed equipment.

"RECRUITS, ATTEN-TION!" Keyes yelled out to his battalion.

The dogs stood a little straighter, as they watched the human company march out in front of them. It was a mix of Royal Marine and U.S.M.C Full Dress Uniforms. Kodi's was the canine version of the U.S.M.C's as was every one else's in his squad, save Bronson, who was wearing the Royal Marine Full Dress Uniform due to his British roots. They all waited anxiously for a human to pick them. One by one they were picked until Kodi was the last one, with no ne else in turn to claim him…he was still the same stray he was when he quit the mail team and was rejected by the one dog he ever felt for.

As the MP's were about to take him away a soldier ran as fast as he could into the regiment whilst adjusting his cover. He was running so fast that he did not notice the bump in the uneven asphalt and tripped into the regiment's C.O.

"Ah crap." He muttered so low under his breath only Kodi and the dogs heard.

"Corporal, what is the meaning of this?" The C.O demanded, obviously pissed.

"Well you see sir…"

**|MEANWHILE, ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PLAZA…|**

"Ah, Kirby why do you have to be so heavy, my toenail is _killing_ me!" Ralph yipped.

"Well, if you stop moving so I can see what's going on, you won't have to do this much longer. Now, pucker up!" Kirby commanded from his subordinate. They were behind the wooden fence that separated the training plaza from the abandoned grassland where the sled dogs played on their day off.

They were stacked on top of each other to try to find their teammate, who had seemed so depressed when he announced he was leaving. Dusty was sad as well that day…Kirby and Ralph had their suspicions, to say the least. At last, when it seemed they had found the perfect position to scan the plaza, a voice that emitted from directly behind them toppled the canine tower in less than three seconds.

"Just what do y'all think your doing?" The feminine voice asked.

They looked up from the dirt and confirmed what their minds registered; it was their teammate, Dusty.

"Uh we were…uhh…" Kirby trailed off, thinking very carefully, of what he was going to say.

"We were trying to find Kodi." Ralph replied enthusiastically.

"_RALPH!_" Kirby complained at his friend's stupidity.

Dusty looked at them, as if thinking. After a couple seconds she asked, "Well, did you find him?"

"No." They said simultaneously. Dusty motioned over to the fence and looked through the small gaps in-between the sage-green planking._ 'Why didn't I think of that?"_ Kirby thought. After about five minutes, Dusty announced that it was impossible to find him in the midst of all those men. Kirby and Ralph left and Dusty was about to join him when she heard a howl. A howl that sent chills down her spine, one that she felt that she hadn't heard in ages…It was Kodi's howl.

She looked franticly through the crowd of men, trying to find him. However, could not find him through the thicket of Marines. She did see a couple of dogs, got their attention, and asked, "Hey, do you know where Kodi is?"

"Uh, do you mean Corporal Kodiak, ma'am? He's second in command." He said. This mildly surprised her and mildly did not; she always knew he was a natural leader, like his mom said.

"Would it be too much trouble to get him over here?" She asked. She saw the happy, jubilant chow-chow's expression dim, "I'm sorry ma'am he can not. He is currently being selected for which method of combat he will be implemented in with his partner.

_'He finally has a real owner now?'_ She wondered.

"O-okay, carry on I guess, soldier." She said with a friendly grin.

"Will do, _ma'am_." He said going off into Kodi's direction to tell his senior X.O what happened.

(((((()-()))))))

"…And that's why I'm late and a total jar-head buffoon, sir!" The marine said.

"Alright Specialist Johnson, now what was it you wanted to ask me?" The C.O said.

"I would like to request Corporal Kodiak as my partner, sir!" He said, glancing at Kodi to find a very, very happy dog.

Kodi hadn't felt this happy since he got onto the mail team. He was finally getting an owner, an owner! This would be a day Kodi would remember for his entire life, for better or worse…it still counted. The C.O eyed him carefully and then looked over to Kodi who adjusted his cover back to regulation length from two fingers from the top of his nose and barked in agreement, wagging his tail for what seemed like the first time in years.

The C.O turned and consulted the project lead, SSgt. Byrne, who personally brought him here. After they conferred, the C.O turned and faced Johnson. "Specialist Logan Johnson, you are herby given responsibility to the requested equip-"

"Dog." Byrne interjected.

The C.O sighed and nodded, "Dog."

"Thank you, sir!" Logan said and saluted. To which both Byrne and the C.O. returned his salute. He turned and knelt down and petted Kodi, "Hey boy, you alright?" He said.

Kodi barked in response, pounced on Logan, and started licking his face.

Logan laughed, "Ha-ha, alright, alright, I'll take that as a yes!" Kodi listened to his new master and backed off him to allow him to get up. Amidst his laughing, they both noticed everyone looking at them.

"Are we done having our tender moment?" Byrne asked, waiting impatiently for them to get back in line. They wiped their smiles off their faces and quickly got in line. They were silent for the res of the general muster, seeing as it was about their final test. Maintaining discipline on the parade march down Main Street. There was a surprising amount of planning going into it, which didn't surprise Kodi in the least, seeing as it was tradition in basic to 'walk the right of the path' to officially pass training but if they really had to, they could be put into battle right now against the Austrian-Hungarian Forces.

It was going to be an easy shot, just march down the Main Street and then they would be done with their training. Kodi wasn't thinking at all over the course of the last six weeks about his civilian life since the third to last day of training. He also realized that he had joined up without his parents knowing, Jenna for sure had been told by his team and will probably be furious with him. He had no idea on his dad though. He would like to think his dad would be proud but ever since he popped the question to Dusty about dating, he rendered his thoughts on civilian life useless. Of course, his parents wouldn't be mad forever, but his mom was probably going to ring his neck when he got back. She was the one thing that scared him after he had been facing grizzlies, avalanches, treacherous weather and landscapes when he was on the mail team. It was ironic, really.

After they finished the meeting, they were allowed back into their bunks and mess hall to socialize. Kodi mostly stayed reserved, wanting some time to think about his…problem. He knew Dusty hated him for one reason or another, but he didn't know. He figured that he should leave the subject at rest, for now, at least. He decided to take a quick power nap so he wasn't so tired when they went to the parade for their graduation. _'Just an hour…just an hour…'_ He thought as he drifted off into some much-needed shut-eye.


	7. Return to Sender

Today was the day.

The culmination of what felt like a lifetime of training. Kodi was now a much different dog, he was stronger, faster, and much more perceptive as well as being one of the best units to comprehend unit orders, but much of his squad did that and surprised the trainers, they were all promoted up a rank, making Kodi a Battalion leader for the dogs. They were off base and in Full Dress, same as last time. They were on their way to Nome, eager to complete their 'rite of passage'. The people in town gathered to see their loved ones in their final part of training. The port in town was also crowding as well as Main Street to see the service men. Everyone left their jobs and that included the Mail Team so they decided to watch for Kodi, as they had not seen him since three months after he quit the mail team, only for a very brief time when he said he was joining up.

Kodi had thought long and hard over the march to Nome about Dusty, yet none of the thoughts he had in his head were even comparable to the ones he had before. He wanted, no, _needed_ to get to her, he needed to embrace her once again. However, his thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks as he remembered her mysterious rejection. He had yet to come to a closure on that, it had been the pet peeve of his life since that day that seemed so long ago, from where he was standing now.

Kodi had pushed it out of his mind for so long, and he would keep having to…for as long as he stayed in Nome. He remembered a tale he heard he older sled dogs used to tell when he was young, he remembered their names, Nikki, Kaltag, Star…they were all talking to his dad about Steele, apparently one of his dad's enemies since he showed up in Nome, so long ago. He remembered his dad saying that if he ever saw him, that he should tell his dad immediately, that he was very dangerous. It was only until recently that he was told that this evil dog was taken to some person who lived in the 'Fatherland', or Germany. No one knows exactly why or how. He was taken aback from his thoughts as his second-in-command nudged him, "Hey buddy, you don't look so good." Stubby said.

"He's right mate, you look pale." B.R said.

Kodi looked up from the wooded trail that the humans were marching in, his former mail trail way, "…I'm…just thinking….yeah, that's it."

"If you say so mate, just be ready, cause your home-towns just ahead." B.R said.

"Sure thing, Bronson." Kodi said to his British teammate.

"I told you, call me B.R." He shot plainly back to Kodi.

"Right, sorry." Kodi said absent mindedly as he looked at the skyline of Nome, memories flooding back into his mind.

**|Nome, Alaska|**

Dusty was walking by the town's port, looking at all the big ships. Kirby and Ralph were looking at the ships, their testosterone levels rising by the second.

"Hey Kirby, look at that 16" double-smoothbore ship mounted artillery weapon!" Everyone stopped with wide eyes and looked at him as if he spoke a completely different language, "What?" They asked unanimously.

"I did my homework; I can't believe Kodi is going to be on one of those going 'over there'!" He exclaimed, "Sorry, by the way."

"It's fine." Kirby said.

"Speaking of Kodi, he should be coming back this morning." Kirby said.

The others looked at him, "When?" Dusty asked.

"In a half an hour." He said.

"Well, then let's get going!" Ralph said walking in the direction of Nome's main street. They walked down through D-street and plopped themselves in front of the post office's window.

**|Kodi, City Line, Nome, Alaska|**

_'This is it; I'm just going to walk back in, not taking a second thought.'_ He thought, feigning confidence to take his mind of facing his parents after not telling them that he enlisted, and…Dusty. He looked at his fire-team, all in dress uniform. He knew they would die for him if they had to, he just hoped that that day would never have to dawn. They were the best bunch of people he had the pleasure to meet; he trusted them as much…maybe even more than his ex-sled team.

"Detail, Attention!" Keyes shouted.

The detail snapped to attention.

"Detail, RIGHT-FACE!" The detail turned to the right, and began their march down the street that to Kodi, felt like it would go on forever. The super-structures of the dreadnought-class battleships loomed over the town in the arctic down drift that was cast over the Bering Strait. He knew that he would soon be among those ships, but pushed the thought from his mind. He did not want to think about, nor did he want his parents to worry. That is, if they did not kill him first. He looked at the crowd that had gathered, he saw the mail team look on over at him, he did not look, he could feel their eyes penetrating his skull. He could hear 'God save the queen' and 'The Star-Spangled Banner' being played as they marched on. He turned the corner of the street and passed His mother's house, he could see his father and his mother stare at him, he could not get a read on their expressions from the point he was a though. He knew his father wouldn't be mad, he always respected the wishes of his son, as did his mother, but she always worried about him, and he started to think that she might get depressed thinking about what would happen to him. He kept marching, he saw his ex-musher looking at him, smiling at his ex-lead dog, and although he never really 'owned' him, he still ran the team. He kept marching on, he saw his recruiter looking at him respectively, with proud eyes. He kept marching and then the platoon stopped and they saw that their base-commander was about to give a speech, the whole town of Nome, and even some people from White Mountain. He saw the dogs gather up too. He sat at 'parade rest' and listened to the base commander give his speech, "For us, a storm is brewing over seas. There is a war about to take place. Nevertheless, let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark of war already and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure...sacrifice, and unshakable conviction that their fight; our fight, was elsewhere. The world is at war this is freedom's stand against tyranny. These men…, dogs, and horses, they are fighting for you, and we. Will. Prevail!"

Everyone cheered and the town's dogs barked and he could barely hear his dad howling and Jenna joining him. After the meeting, they were all dismissed for the week. Kodi immediately bided his friends a quick good-bye and ran up to his parents, which were doing likewise. "KODI!" His mom screamed as she pounced on him. "Mom…Chocking-me…can't breath!" She got off him and nuzzled him. His dad, Balto, ran up and pulled him into a bear hug, "I'm proud of you son, and we both wish you luck. Just uh…watch out for those French Poodles." He said, smirking.

"Y-yeah dad." He said blushing in embarrassment.

"Your team is worried about you." He said.

"Why? I quit." Kodi replied.

"They kept the spot for you, out of respect." Balto said.

"I-I need to go talk to them." Kodi said.

"Okay son." Balto replied to Kodi.

Kodi walked over to the boiler room thinking of what he should say. He arrived and took a deep breath, and walked through the threshold of the door. He saw Kirby and Ralph.

They noticed him when Kodi removed his U.S.M.C cover and tucked it neatly on the clip on the side of his dog's dress uniform.

"Kodi, it's been too long." Ralph said.

"Yeah, way to long." Kirby added.

"Likewise guys, it's good to be back in Nome, training was really hard. It makes pulling the sled with 18 bags of mail tied to it with cinder blocks on the runners look like a piece of cake!" Kodi said, throwing his arms in the air for emphasis.

Dusty walked in, "Kodi!" She screamed. She pounced on him and licked his face while his friends burst out laughing.

"Wait just a second here, I thought you hated me!" Kodi said half-confused, half accusingly.

"I can explain that." She said motioning to the door with her paw, "Can I walk with you?"

"Of course." He replied uneasily. As soon as they left through the back door, she noticed Kodi's body and how much it changed. He looked much more mature with his dress harness and dog tags, looked more muscular, and toned. She also remembered her father's wishes but felt she was starting to lust for Kodi. After a few quiet seconds she could not suppress her feelings any more and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.

Kodi was taken aback by this for a few seconds, then closed his eyes and passionately returned her kiss with a little more force. She fell on her back and they rolled down a nearby hill. They reached the bottom, rolled around, and after a couple seconds wanted nothing more but to continue, but their lungs commanded of them that they pull away for air. Dusty and Kodi pulled away and gasped for air. Kodi, panting, looked over to his left at Dusty, who in-turn was looking at him, smiling. He smiled back; he had not felt this happy since she first revealed her feelings to him. They looked up at the now-afternoon sky. They were silent and had their paws in each other's.

Dusty first broke the silence crying a little bit.

"What's wrong?" Kodi asked.

"I shouldn't have done that." She said.

Kodi became intrigued, "Why?"

"My father doesn't like you; he says that you're a danger to me and to stay away from you." She said, crying a little more.

"Don't cry," He said nuzzling her, "I would never try to hurt you, I love you."

"I know that, but he doesn't.' She said, now stifling her cries and calming down slightly.

"Ever since I laid my eyes on you since I joined the mail team, I've always felt for you and only until two months ago I realized it was love." Kodi said, looking into her beautiful blue eyes.

She smiled at him and sighed, "I know, that's why I was crying when I rejected you. I wanted with all my heart to say yes but my father would've beaten me if I had." She said. Kodi saw the fear of her abusive father in her eyes.

"What? Why would he hurt his own daughter! You did nothing to deserve that! Wait-did he ever?"

She nodded sadly and showed him a deep claw mark on her inner wrist, "This is madness!" Kodi cried softly. He stood up.

"I'm not going to let you get hurt over me; I'm going to him and telling him to stop." Kodi said.

"No!" She said.

"Dusty, he is breaking several rules. He could be punished very badly for what he is doing, and I will not stand for it either. I'm going to Doc." He said.

"Don't kill him though, he is still my father." She said, not wanting to kill him. However, she was all for punishing him.

Kodi put his cover on, "C'mon, let's go."

Dusty Nodded and followed her lover, knowing that he would do anything for her.

"Kodi," She said as she was walking, "What happens if you get hurt over there, in the war. I don't want to lose you, I love you." She said nuzzling him. Her spine sent chills down her back as she nuzzled him.

Kodi did not say anything; he did not want her to be afraid. Although he would mostly be used for tracking and medical, there was still a very big chance of combat. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words did not come. "I…Don't worry Dusty; I probably won't see any combat." He lied.

"O-okay." She said. He felt like his heart was stabbing his mind, figuratively, right now. He could not stand lying to his lover, but he did not want her to go through hell waiting for him to come back, the war of her mind and emotions. He kept walking, it was getting dark and with the darkness, the arctic temperatures started to trickle through the land. Dusty got really close to him, but was shivering like crazy. He took off his harness and placed it over her shaking body. She looked up in protest but he cut her off, "You need it more than I do, just keep close." He said smiling.

"No problem there.' She said, snuggling closer to her lover as they walked the cold streets of Nome to the abandoned building where all the dogs hung out, including the town's alpha, Doc. Sure he was old but he was known for his temper and ability to diffuse situations. It was across town and they were just passing the Post Office, which was on the other side of town. A few service men were out drinking and being pulled back to base in motor carriages back to base by MP's.

His new owner, Specialist Logan Johnson was among testing men to see how drunk they were. He noticed Kodi and another dog, and that his dress harness was over the other one. _'That sly dog.'_ He thought but his attention was ripped from the sight as a private puked all over his combat boots, "I'm a medic, not a barf-bag, Private." He said, sorry sir, I am not drunk, just the food here, think I got salmonella. Alright, report to triage at base."

"Yessir." The private slurred as he puked again.

Logan looked out at Kodi's direction and did not see them. He smiled and that was that and turned back to all the detained drunk soldiers. It was going to be a busy night at triage.

Kodi and Dusty walked past the commotion and soon arrived at the front, they could hear all the dogs inside, and Kodi walked in with her. As soon as they entered, people ran up to Kodi thanking him and wishing him luck and all the girls squealed as he walked by. Dusty gave them a _'Touch him and your dead' _stare and they walked up to the second floor, leaving the party behind and going to the part of the building where Doc and his Advisor looked decided judgments and such for dogs in trouble and those of the dogs who wanted to be mates. It was like an underground dog government for the town.

Doc noticed Kodi and Dusty when they walked in, "Ah Kodi, Balto's son, correct? What can I do for you?"

Kodi looked at him, "Actually you can help us with something, and we have a bit of a problem."


End file.
